Episode 030: Moving and Traveling Internationally

00:11 Welcome, Annyce Davis!

• Annyce spends her day-to-day working as a Software Developer and Leader. She has specifically been focused on Android applications for the past several years. She's also an Android Google Developer Expert. This means that she spends a lot of time developing videos, blog posts, and conference talks for the Developer Community.
• Annyce is currently the Software Group Lead at a social impact startup called Zola Electric. They provide clean, transformative energy to households that suffer from expensive, unreliable grids or have no grid access at all. She gets to help impact the lives of people across Africa by developing a high-quality Android application that’s used by their entire sales force.

01:25 Moving from the U.S. to Amsterdam

• Fell in love with Europe about 4-5 years ago.
• 2 years ago, had an opportunity to move for a job opportunity.

02:55 Kids' Reactions to the Prospect of Moving / Transitioning After Moving

• Were worried about their grandparents and what the food would be like.
• Curiousity around schooling. Now attend an International School and take Dutch language lessions twice a week.
• Adjusting and acceptance of differences between life in the U.S. vs Amsterdam.

09:35 Logistics of Relocation to Another Country

• A cleaning process for your life and letting things go.
• If it wasn't sentimental, it went.
• Renting a furnished home.
• Take what you need to get through a few months. Shipping containers take a loooong time to be delivered.

15:20 Giving Kids Worldly Experience at a Young Age

• Exposure to diverse cultures.
• Status/prestige differences.
• Blissful ignorance to certain things.

19:26 Networks of Support & Feeling American While Not in America

• Having family send U.S. essentials!! Stock up while visiting.
• Visiting at least once a year.

25:39 Travel Tips

• Bring snacks.
• Have laundry soap.
• Wear compression socks on the plane.
• Figure out the money situation in advance.

31:43 Traveling Without Your Kids: Maintaining Relationships

• Having a transparent schedule.
• Talk every day.
• Bring souveniers.
• Being a parent and pursuing your career:

People ask me for career advice all of the time. Here's a cheer:

Self-deprecate, self-deprecate
Just smile and congratulate
Work twice as hard for half the pay
Play with your kids every other day
GOOOOOOOOO CAREER!!! #happytuesday #morningthoughts pic.twitter.com/sEH2xkl4y0

— Annyce Davis (@brwngrldev) April 23, 2019

• Set limits.
• Make it count when you're home.
• When you're away, the kids will be okay. And half the time, they don't even care! (They'll just make you feel guilty leading up to the trip.)

What Do Teenagers Want? Potted Plant Parents

45:37 Genius / Fail Moments

• KWu found convenient vegetables! (#Genius)
• Annyce messed up the train schedule, so they walked and tired the kids out! (#Genius/Fail)
• Mandy didn't pay attention to where her daughter way playing. Heeeeyyyyy, poison ivy! (#Fail)

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com.

Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.

Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.

Panel

KWu
Mandy Moore

Special Guest: Annyce Davis.

Episode 019: Being Adults

00:25 Welcome, Jonan Scheffler!

Jonan is a free-range computer sciencer at Heroku and cheerleader for hire (all major hugs accepted). He is also a board member of RubyTogether and all-around swell human being!

We recorded this episode live and in-person at this year's RubyConf in Los Angeles.

01:09 Catching Up On Sleep, Spending Time with Friends, and Spending Spousal Points

• Conferences are NOT vacations, y'all!
• Traveling as a job.
• Being present at home.
• Partying is WORK.

11:16 Communicating to Loved Ones at Home

• Facetiming, calling, audio messaging.

18:50 Going Home / Reentry to the Parenting World

25:04 It Takes a Village... Support Systems When Away

29:30 Self-Care While Away

• Treats!
• Massage!
• Movies on the plane!
• Room service!
• Fancy coffee!
• Tattoos!?!

32:34 Genius / Fail Moments

• Allison: Her son drew her a picture "so Mommy doesn't scream as much". (#Fail); Attending an anger management for parents of small children class. (#Genius)
• Mandy: Forgot to download things to her devices on the way to LA! (#Fail)
• Josh: Mistook a sprained ankle for growing pains. (#Fail)
• KWu: Mistook roseola for windburn! (#Fail)
• Jonan: Ruined waffles for his kids. (#Fail)
• Andy: His daughter learned how to swim! (#Genius)

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com.

Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.

Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.

Panel

Andy Croll
Mandy Moore
Allison McMillan
Josh Puetz
KWu

Special Guest: Jonan Scheffler.

Episode 014: Conferencing After Babies

00:16 Welcome, Tess and Sean Griffin!

Tess is a Site Engineer at GitHub. Sean is a developer at Shopify, renowned Rails committer, the creator of the Diesel Framework, host of The Yak Shave podcast, and a former host of The Bike Shed podcast.

02:14 Deciding on Conference to Go To and Speak At

Conferences who offer on-site childcare are very attractive. Shoutout to Ruby Central conferences and Rust Belt Rust!

09:56 Evening Childcare

Going through conference organizer recommendations is preferencial because they spend a lot of time scouting the cities, however, services like UrbanSitter and Care.com are options in a pinch.

Conferences that offer child/kid-friendly after-hours activities are also great for parents. It seems like more conferences like that are popping up and opting for less bar atomosphere gatherings. 👍

16:38 Awesome Conference-Provided Amenities / Wishlist Items

• Swag Options for Kids (onesies and t-shirts!)
• Badges for Kids and Babies
• A list of kid-tolerant folks / Babysitting Co-ops for parents amongst attendees / Equipment share (Could be in the form of a Slack channel.

23:34 Having Answers BEFORE Asking People to Commit

Just having people click a box saying they will need childcare but not having any details about what those plans are isn't cool. (It also gives them a great excuse to turn down coming.) Parents want to know from the get-go that there is a solid childcare plan in place before they commit to going to a conference. Remember, the younger the child, the more logistics are involved around needs and stuff (equipment).

• Is there a supermarket or supermarket delivery service nearby?
• How will I get from the airport to the conference hotel?
• Is there additional costs for children?

27:31 Getting Around

Public transportation around your conference is key. 10-15 minutes away from the airport is an ideal distance.

29:26 School-Age Children and Conferences

32:43 Genius / Fail Moments

• Chris: Print-and play projects (#Genius)
• Tess: Investing in a nice child gate (#Genius)
• Allison: Having thoughtful and interactive conversations with your kids (#Genius)
• Sean: Teaching babies words is hilarious! 🤣

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com. Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
We are listener supported. Please consider Supporting us via Patreon and gaining access to our our kind Slack Community.

Panel

Chris Sexton
Allison McMillan

Special Guests: Sean Griffin and Tess Griffin.

Episode 012: Traveling with Kids

00:48 The Great Screen Debate

Today's particular panelists are all about screens while traveling as long as it's not detracting from the travel experience. Everyone agrees that screens are a great way to keep kids occupied and quiet.

08:09 Transportation Challenges, Woes, and Genius Tips

• When your kid gets flagged on her first plane ride...
• TSA Pre√ (Worth its weight in gold!!)
• Download shows to devices in advance
• Have a variety of activities (besides screens)
  • Hotel Paper & Pens
  • Books
  • Cheerios
  • ... and a Walkman?
• Building Up Good Will with People Around You: Is it worth bribing others (with chocolate??) and socializing or should they just deal with you traveling with your kiddo(s)?
• Use Car Services like Lyft!

24:25 Transportation + Car Seats (Deserves its own conversation, obviously.)

• Amazon a cheap one + have delivered to your destination then donate when you go home (Pro tip: Do the same thing with diapers!)
• Uber and Lyft have car seat options in select cities
• Renting Car Seats: Yay or Nay?

32:58 On-The-Go Childcare

• Hotel Concierge - Check Yelp Reviews!
• Make sure you know where the closest hospital/urgent care center is

37:46 We're Here. Now What?

• Google "Top 10 things to do in X"
• Use an app like Winnie

39:48 A Round of Helpful Hints and Tricks

• Josh: If possible, get a hotel room with a separate bedroom.
• Mandy: Hotels with pools are delightful. (Especially if your kids can swim on their own.) Also use Uber Eats for food delivery to the hotel if going out is undesirable.
• Chris: Pizza chains will deliver to hotel pools for an easy pizza party. Great for traveling sports teams!
• Allison: Bring a roll of duct tape and use a taller chair on the side of the bed to act as a bedrail.
• Andy: Aluminum foil and a sponge!

43:42 Genius / Fail Moments

• Allison: MilkStork: A breast milk shipping company when you're away from your infant.
• Andy: Andy's son offered his teddy bear to a friend in need!
• Chris: Playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii as a family activity to teach good sportsmanship and kindness.
• Mandy: Staying on the boardwalk part of the beach on the ground level. Also, if you do a lot of traveling, save up points! Mandy uses Marriott Rewards to get free nights in select hotels for summer vacation fun!

Follow & Support

Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at panel@parentdrivendevelopment.com.

Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.

Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.

Panel

Andy Croll
Chris Sexton
Allison McMillan
Mandy Moore
Josh Puetz